Today's birthday, March 6

Working with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello was part of one of the most popular comedy duos of the 20th century.

Lou Costello was born on March 6, 1906, in Paterson, New Jersey.

He was a gifted sportsman and had a stint as a boxer before moving to Hollywood in the 1920s.

Costello's movie career got off to a rocky start, when he was only able to score gigs as a labourer or occasional extra at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Brothers.

His athleticism landed him several roles as a stunt man, notably in the 1927 film The Fair Co-Ed.

Discouraged by his lack of success in Hollywood, he packed his bags and ended up in Missouri, convincing a local theatre owner to give him a chance.

Costello worked as a Dutch-accented comic and eventually took his new act to New York and began working in its burlesque and vaudeville theatres.

At the time, he was introduced to Bud Abbott who pitched the idea of a double act.

They performed their comedy routine on stage before getting a break on the The Kate Smith Hour, a popular radio variety show.

Their success on the program led to a Broadway play in 1939 and then a contract with Universal Pictures.

The duo made 36 films between 1940 and 1956 and were among the most recognisable and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II.

Among their most popular films are Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

By the mid-1950s the pair's star had wanned. They split in 1957.

Costello died of a heart attack on March 3, 1959, three days before his 53rd birthday.